MicroED and 3D Electron Diffraction: Pharmaceutical Literature, 2018–2026
Selected MicroED and 3D electron diffraction publications on pharmaceutical crystal structures, polymorphs, salts, cocrystals, solvates, drug products, and absolute configuration.
Selected for pharmaceutical relevance, methodological contribution, industrial evidence, and review value. This is an editorial collection, not a citation-count ranking or an exhaustive bibliography. Foundational 2018 studies are included.
Durga Prasad Karothu; Zainab Alhaddad; Christian R. Göb et al. Angewandte Chemie International Edition · DOI 10.1002/anie.202303761
The crystal structure of levocetirizine dihydrochloride was determined by 3D ED/MicroED from crystalline powder extracted from commercially available tablets. Dynamical refinement also supported its absolute configuration. The study provides an example of identifying and characterizing an API within a microcrystalline mixture, without requiring the growth of large single crystals or implying that every formulated product is equally accessible.
Why it is included: Solves a long-used API directly from tablet-derived crystalline material.
The study examined API crystals directly in Allegra, Clarith, and Ibrance tablets using selected-area 3D ED/MicroED. Fexofenadine hydrochloride Form I and clarithromycin Form II retained their polymorphs, while palbociclib Form A showed slight lattice shrinkage. The results demonstrate formulation-level structural analysis and emphasize that a lattice change and a new polymorph are different findings.
Why it is included: Direct tablet measurements make this a particularly useful reference for formulation development, manufacturing comparisons, and investigating API form changes in finished products.
